Naniwa

Best and most heavenly Japanese food in Düsseldorf, hands down. :)

Only a few (small) downsides you must know about:

1.) You can only pay via Debit / Credit card.
2.) There is a short queue outside, but it should only take you 10 minutes at most to get inside, if you are 1, 2 or 3 people. (Small group)
3.) Sometimes Naniwa's main restaurant isn't open on certain days (usually Monday and Wednesday).
In those cases their sushi bar on the opposite side of the road is open instead.

Overall though, by far the best Japanese food in Dusseldorf and you could just never go wrong with whatever dish you pick.

The tiny queue is 100% worth the wait! Enjoy your Japanese delicacies.

Long long lines because it is worth the wait.
Ramen bowls are huge and can be shared for two. Ramen was tasty and we mostly ate it. Fried rice was a small portion and for me that was expensive for what you get.
The only downside eating indoors is you smell so bad when you get out after eating. So if you don't want the smell on your clothes eat outdoors.

Due to fact that the restaurant became popular with long waiting lines in front, the owners started acting rudely against costumers with time. The personal suppossed to assist us told us that there are many waiting after us and if do not act according to rules we will have to leave. Restaurants are supposed to keep us happy while waiting, not keep us in order.

Food was good and the sets were a great deal for the price. We walked in for dinner on a weekday night and were seated at the bar, but when we left, there was a long line outside, so definitely try to get here early!

THE ONLY REVIEW YOU NEED TO READ:

Takumi vs. Naniwa
Takumi has better noodles. They are more firm, thicker and tastier. The broth is not bad, more on a saltier soy side.

Naniwa wins with its broth. The noodles aren't great, too soft. But the soup has great miso flavor.

What to order:
If you like miso or you don't have a preference - go with miso.

If you are a healthy, clean eater and don't want it too busy - go with shio - the salt based ramen

If you think miso isn't for you and shio sounds too boring. Than the soy based shoyu is perfect for you.

Should I go for the fancier ramen:
If you want Karaage, I'd order it separately. In a soup, they soaked the soup and lose their crunchiness. If you are debating between karaage or teriyaki - go with Karaage if you like fried stuff and teriyaki if you like the chicken texture. Both are highly recommended.

Takumi = Takumi?
If you don't ramen often - you might not notice a difference but if you are picky about your ramen. The OG takumi is the clear winner. The rest are alright.

Is it worth standing in line for?
If you hate the line, go to a different takumi. If you are just for a visit and want the experience the best ramen, then you'd have to wait in line :)

The best fried rice EVER. Excellent Ramen. Worth the wait in line. Service very good, they just need more tables to avoid the wait.

FOOD & DRINKS
Naniwa offers plenty of ramen options and typical Japanese snacks. If you are vegetarian though, you are limited to a few items and I would not recommend the only vegetarian ramen they offer. I have been here several times many years ago. Not much has changed. The ramen was the meal of choice the first four or five visits. Later on I switched to the crab & shrimp Omelette over rice (they call it Tenshinhan here) and Karaage.
I never felt the crab was a thing in their version and this time I even feel they barely put shrimps into the egg. Got a few super tiny pieces. The taste though was good as usual. They do a pretty decent job on all the things I had so far.

SERVICE
I have to say that the service was better many years ago. They were always packed but it has gotten worse over the years. Even though they expanded their restaurant, service has gone worse. Not to a point that its bad but everything feels rushed because they don't want people to wait too long.

ATMOSPHERE
The whole restaurant is nicely decorated. Even though they have been around for so long, the place doesn't look outdated.

RATING
There is one simple question? Is this restaurant worth the hype and wait time? Simple answer: no. I think its overrated. The food is good. Absolutely. But is it better than so many other options in Düsseldorf? Nah, I don't think so. Everything they offer here I had better in another Japanese Restaurant in Düsseldorf. Especially if you are vegetarian I would give this a hard pass unless you just come for some appetizers.
Still, if you are lucky and can manage to get in front of the line, give them a shot.

We hit this place not even 10 min after it opened at 10:30 am and it was almost full! There are a lot of choices here in Little Tokyo of Düsseldorf. This was right around the corner from our hotel and a great place to eat before our drive to Antwerp. Boy we're we happy and full after this meal!

We ordered one ramen (extra noodles, egg, extra veggies-free, and spicy). Note we did order the miso based vegetarian soup which was the most flavorful ramen I have ever had, ever! The noddles we added the omelet 3 € but worth it! We also tried to order the bamboo shoot app but they were out and we got the spinach instead which was cold and oh so good!

The ramen noodles were cooked perfectly and they didn't skimp on the size, the bowl was huge! They put mushrooms, veggies, green onions and what seemed like a bottomless bowl of tasty treasures.

Thank you so much for this amazing meal. The waitresses were amazingly sweet, switching their language from German, Japanese, Korean and English..wow! This place is first class!

On a lazy Sunday at lunchtime we just walked through the Japanese district of Düsseldorf. Looking for a small snack like Gyozas. This place we heard about that it's supposed to be good so we tried it. And yes! The Gyozas, Edauand the Wantan soup we tried was all very delicious. A bit pricy but it's worth it.

Whenever we are craving authentic Ramen, we drive into Germany from the Netherlands just to visit Naniwa. I have nothing to say except that all the menu items that we have ever tried have been fantastic. My favorite item on their menu is this omelette that they make which they serve over white rice in a fantastic sauce. In terms of service, if you were sitting towards the front near the entrance or at the bar, the service is great. If they happen to seat you towards the back of the restaurant on the other side, the service is severely lacking. It was bordeline almost rude when we were seated there. I have still given this establishment four stars because of the fantastic food and the great service we have gotten on the other side of the restaurant. If they can improve service throughout, I will definitely give them five stars.